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About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in jo... (More)

About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in journalism. Though my first love is journalism, food is a close second. I am constantly on the lookout for new restaurants to try, building an ever-expanding "to eat" list. As a journalist, I'm always trolling news sources and social media websites with an eye for local food news, from restaurant openings and closings to emerging food trends. When I was a teenager growing up in Menlo Park, I always drove up to the city on weekends with the singular purpose of finding a better meal than I could at home. But in the past year or so, the Peninsula's food culture has been totally transformed, with many new restaurants opening and a continuous stream of San Francisco restaurants coming south to open Peninsula outposts. Don't navigate this food boom hungry and alone! Feed me your tips on new chefs and eats and together we'll share them with the broader community. (Hide)

Menlo family brings Tahoe breakfast favorite to Marsh Manor

Uploaded: Aug 1, 2014

It's a familiar journey for many Bay Area families.

You pack the car to the gills with everyone's snow (or summer) gear, wake up bright and early and hit the road to head up to Tahoe for a trip. Some might look forward to getting on the slopes as soon as possible; others, to an exclusive-to-Tahoe omelet awaiting you in downtown Truckee at the Squeeze In.

For those of us who live on the Peninsula and are more interested in breakfast food than outdoor adventures, great news: Squeeze In is coming to Redwood City.

A Menlo Park family who has made the Peninsula-to-Tahoe trek dozens of times has brought their favorite out-of-town breakfast spot to the area, after seeing a space for rent at Marsh Manor and approaching the owners of Squeeze In.

Robin Soran, manager of Vibe Yoga at Marsh Manor, said she saw the space vacated by Pizza Primo at 3710 Florence St. and immediately thought of Squeeze In.

"About every time we go up there, we always make a point to go have breakfast at the Squeeze In," she said. "We just love the good food there and the family friendly community feel of that restaurant."

After doing some research and "knowing that we need a good breakfast place in the area," she said, she reached out to the owners.

"As talks went on … it turned out it really was the perfect spot for us  the demographics are perfect, the layout is perfect, just everything came together in the right way," said co-owner Shila Morris.

The Soran family helped by investing, along with another local family; Squeeze In snagged the lease and are in the permitting process. They hope to be open by December, Morris said. This will be their fifth location (but the first outside the Truckee/Reno area).

Squeeze In, which opened in downtown Truckee in 1974, does all-things-breakfast (pancakes, French toast, eggs benedict, breakfast burritos, oatmeal, biscuits and gravy, regular eggs)  but its "claim to fame" is omelets, Morris said. When she took over the company 10 years ago, there were 57 omelets on the menu. They've since done some tweaking ("40 years ago chicken livers were a little more relevant than they are today," she laughed) so now you only have to stress out about choosing from the more than 30 omelet combinations (or, make your own).

Omelets range from your typical (Denver, veggie, Spanish, etc.) to your unusual (the "Cathy Who?" comes with bacon, bananas, ham, honey, mushrooms and cream cheese; "The Sarge" with pastrami, salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese and avocado). Morris said the restaurant's No. 1 best seller is the "Racy Tracy" -- sautéed mushrooms with Monterey jack cheese and bacon, topped with avocado ($13.49)  which was actually featured on the Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay in 2010.

Most omelets range from $11 to $15, depending on what's inside. Any omelet can be made into a scramble or with egg whites.

Squeeze In also serves lunch: sandwiches, salads, soup, fries and the like.

The 2,156 square-foot-space has seating for 65 people inside and a patio with seating for 24 outside. The restaurant will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"We're a family business and we're partnering with two other families to open this location," Morris said. "It's really cool to have found a spot and a community that rings true to what we believe in and are all about."

Until the hopefully Dec. 1 opening, Squeeze In will participate in Marsh Manor's weekly "Thursday Night Party on the Patio" featuring live music, food and drinks. A team will be giving away farmer's market bags, talking up the restaurant and enrolling new members in the Squeeze In EggHead Breakfast Club, the restaurant's very own rewards program.

Posted by Carole S.,
a resident of Gunn High School,
on Aug 4, 2014 at 9:48 am

I also look forward to trying this place.

That Marsh Manor shopping center already has two of my favorite places: Angel Heart Cakes, which makes some unbelievably good angel food cakes that my whole family enjoys, and Queen Bee Ice Cream, whose ice cream pies are the best thing ever, according to my nine- and six-year olds.

I hope that Squeeze In makes it in this new location. I've seen other restaurants try to expand well outside their region (which is Reno/Truckee for Squeeze In) and it's been really tough for them for several years.

My understanding is that the owners are all based in Reno, so they'll have to (a) hire a great manager for this new MP location, and (b) still be willing to make the regular 7-hour roundtrip to keep a hand in things while this new location tries to stand on its own.

Anyway, good luck to the Morrises and to their investors, and I can't wait to try the Spanish Flay omelette.

Posted by baffled,
a resident of Menlo Park: South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks,
on Aug 7, 2014 at 2:22 pm

WTH?! My favorite girlfriend in HS lived a long way away, when she came here to visit me I realized she was ugly -- but in her small town, she was tops.
Moving your favorite vacation spot to your hometown is not going to translate into great memories.

I give it 6 months tops- unless they can get it to snow, then 5 months.

Posted by Shila Morris,
a resident of another community,
on Aug 18, 2014 at 11:40 am

Thank you for the great article Elena!!

We are SO excited to be coming to the Bay area and can't wait to make a positive impact on the community! My cousin and his wife, who have both worked for the business for ten years are moving to Redwood City/Menlo Park to work and manage this location. They have been wanting to move to the Bay SO BAD and when this opportunity came up they knew it was what they had been waiting for.

Additionally, our other cousin already lives in the area and will join the business, and one of our former managers moved to San Jose this summer for school, she was ecstatic to hear the news and can't wait to come back to work for the Squeeze In.

We know it's going to be a lot of work to earn the support and patronage of the locals, and we look forward to serving our new community in a meaningful and fun way.

We are grateful for the opportunity to expand our family and business, thank you for all the encouragement!
If anyone has any questions or wants any further details please don't hesitate to email me personally, I'd love to hear from you!!

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